They soon learned to browse the Web in English, even though they lacked facility in the language.

CNN: What if students learn faster without teachers?

There is no reliable count of web pages in English but among users, 27% adopt English and 24% Chinese.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

An estimated 56% of web sites are in English.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

Eventually, the plan is for Beijing Artists Online's Web site to also feature English and Spanish music, he added.

CNN: Gov't-approved MP3 site to launch in China

And this month, fresh from Egypt and Gaza, Code Pink launched an advertising campaign on the Muslim Brotherhood's English-language Web site.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Code Red on Code Pink

Not much is available in English on the Web about Yorifuji.

FORBES: Bunpei Yorifuji's Quirky Guide To The Periodic Table

Meanwhile, copycat hacktivist groups keen to join in the Anonymous-inspired AntiSec movement have sprung up outside the English-speaking web, from countries like Brazil and Spain.

FORBES: Anonymous, London's Rioters And The Power Of Internet-Organized Insurgencies

Virtual communication, such as information on their personal Web pages, has to be written in English.

CNN: On-line in Yunnan

Coming soon: a book, a web tv and a theatrical performance, with an English version for international audiences.

FORBES: MySmark: Giving Brands Emotional, Real-Time Feedback

"We learn to exchange e-mail, make our own Web pages and, best of all, improve our English, " says Yang Yimei, who is from the town of Simao, in China's southwestern Yunnan province.

CNN: On-line in Yunnan

Fortunately, a number of Japanese government agencies and big businesses have started translating their Web sites so that they can offer parallel sets of pages in English.

ECONOMIST: Kanji and kana on the Internet

McCain launched a Web-only advertisement touting the Colombia Free Trade agreement Tuesday, in English with Spanish subtitles.

CNN: McCain talks trade in Colombia

As Asian business takes to the Internet, English may even lose its place as the unchallenged lingua franca of the web.

ECONOMIST: Can machines talk? From next month they will

To start, Chinese companies should be tweeting the English content that they are already posting on their corporate and investor relations web pages.

FORBES: Short-Seller Attacks Highlight Chinese Companies Social Media Shortcomings

Give it a Web page from a Spanish newspaper and in about a second the text is converted to English.

FORBES: Magazine Article